Experiencing Interruptions?

White Mirror

A young Black game designer comes face to face with covert racism after he’s transformed to look like a white man.

  • Taj Kokayi
    Director
  • Taj Kokayi
    Writer
  • Justin Oratokhai
    Key Cast
    "Jamal Nenge"
  • Aidan Leclaire
    Key Cast
    "James"
  • Kike Ayodeji
    Key Cast
    "Jazzlyn Nenge"
  • Will Devokees
    Key Cast
    "Brad Williams"
  • Madi Bacino
    Key Cast
    "Rachel"
  • Donavan Weston
    Key Cast
    "Dante Hudson"
  • Brianna Cabassa
    Cinematography
  • LJ Garcia
    Cinematography
  • Taj Kokayi
    Producer
  • Kenge B
    Production Design
  • Olivia Williams
    Production Design
  • John Coughlin
    Visual Effects
  • John Coughlin
    Editing
  • Taj Kokayi
    Editing
  • Sonja Phillips-Thomas
    Sound Design/Music Composition
  • Victoria Lin
    Sound Editing
  • Project Type:
    Short, Student
  • Genres:
    Drama, Sci-fi
  • Runtime:
    10 minutes
  • Production Budget:
    2,665 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    Yes - George Mason University
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
  • Mason Film Festival
    Fairfax
    United States
    May 7, 2022
    Mason Film Festival
    Best of Fest, Audience Award, Best Short Screenplay, Best Actor, Best VFX, Best Score
  • Direct Online Monthly Film Festival - 2023

    Best Short Fiction Film (March 2023), Best Trailer (March 2023)
  • Lift Off Global Sessions - 2023

    Official Selection
  • Virginia Emerging Filmmakers Festival
    Winchester, VA
    United States
    April 1, 2023
    Best Actor (Finalist), Best Production Design (Finalist), Best Director (Semi-Finalist)
Director Biography - Taj Kokayi

Taj Kokayi is an artist-activist, dedicated to the advancement of diverse stories that explore the themes of social justice. He aims to create humane sci-fi stories, told through a lens of Blackness.

His 2020 Afro-futuristic film, Woken From A Dream, has been selected to 15 festivals and won awards including Best Experimental, Best Student Film, & Best VFX. His thesis film, White Mirror, received the Best Pitch Delivery award at the 2021 GMU Fall Showcase, and premiered in May 2022, receiving 6 awards including: Best of Fest, Audience Award, and Best Short Screenplay.

In 2022, he worked as an Intern and Production Assistant for The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, before becoming an NBC Page at 30 Rockefeller Plaza, where he currently works at Focus Features Publicity. In 2022, He was announced as the Next Wave Initiative's Spike Lee Directing Award Winner.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

White Mirror is a story about analyzing the workplace through a lens of Blackness. One of the most essential elements to a productive work environment is a sense of community. But how can you feel a part of a community that ostracizes you? Is the black sheep still part of the herd if he doesn't feel reflected or safe in it?

As a Black person, there are countless challenges I face. Big things that people know are wrong but accept as "cultural norms". And small things that my white peers don't notice that I have to keep to myself. And despite all of that, I still wouldn't trade in my Blackness. For anything. My experience defines me, and my culture molds me. This film is about a man who, through a bumpy and emotionally taxing road, comes to that same realization.